Packaging of food stuffs



R. o; JOFFE PACKAGING OF FOOD STUFFS Dec. 26, 1967 Filed April 5, 1966 INVENTOR. foam/o Q Ma /'5 &

arrow/s United States Patent Ofifice 3,360,115 PACKAGING OF FOOD STUFFS Roland D. Joffe, 39 Carwall Ave., Mount Vernon, N.Y. 10552 Filed Apr. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 540,316 2 Claims. (Cl. 20645.31)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display package comprising a container for receiving food therein, a display card having a cutout therein for receiving food stuffs and a. transparent cover overlying the display card. Non-toxic three dimensional food ornaments are removably secured to the display card.

This invention relates to packaging devices and more particularly to such a device having means contained therein for the display of decorative items or premiums contained within the package.

With the tremendous growth of the pre-packaged foods industry including the frozen food industry, the types of packaging employed have necessarily become far more sophisticated and ornamental so as to be able to attract a customers attention when products are displayed on the shelves of a supermarket or other type of self-service store along with many competing products.

The manufacturers of the pre-packaged food items for home consumption have been consistently striving to display their products in a more attractive and marketable manner to attract the consumer, thereby increasing the sale of their product. As an adjunct of this desire to attract the consumers interest to their products, numerous sales inducing methods have been employed, including offering of premiums and give-aways of related items packaged with the actual food stuffs so as to induce the customer to purchase one particular brand over another.

In the past, these premiums or eye-attracting give-away materials have been afiixed to the outside of the food package in such a manner as they may become separated, lost, contaminated, or stolen while the food package is displayed on the shelves; Today, numerous food products are packaged having transparent plastic or synthetic material tops so as to visuall display the food product within the package.

It is therefore an object of the present'invention to provide a display package for foods having means within the package to display such premium items as the manufacturer may wish to have associated with vor used in conjunction with his food product.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a display package comprising a container having a transparent cover overlying the main body of the container and to provide a display means removably disposed between the food product and the transparent lid upon which the premium or associated product may be displayed.

Still further is an object of the present invention to provide a display package 'wherein decorative display items are placed within the package and which items may be removed and later placed upon the food product within the package. I

Still further it is an object of the present invention to provide a display package having a transparent cover with various decorative items located within the pack-' age suspended over the food product contained therein which decorative items will be placed by the ultimate consumer as desired, upon the food product contained in the package.

Still further it is an object of the present invention to provide a package for food stuffs and the like wherein decorative ornaments are removably secured on a display 3,360,115 Patented Dec. 26, 1967 board which is placed in the food package which decorative ornaments may be seen through the transparent lid of the display package and further where the food products contained in the display package can be readily seen at the same time as the decorative ornaments.

Still further it is an object of the present invention providing a display package for food stuffs which is adapted to contain the food product with an insert being placed over the food product, the insert having a cutout therein and having ornamental decorative items removably secured to the insert which is placed over the food product Which decorative display items are to be placed by the ultimate consumer upon the food product within the package.

Still further it is another object of the present invention to provide a display package having a removable transparent lid and having decorative ornamentations removably secured to a display card which is adapted to be placed under said transparent lid over the food product, and wherein the removably secured decorative items on the display card will later be used by the consumer to decorate the food product contained within the package where the transparent cover may be replaced on the food package at a later time so that the decorated food product may be shown prior to use with the decorative ornaments already afiixed to the food product.

Additional objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of display packages for food products which are inexpensive to manufacture, and are adapted to have placed therein a display card having a number of removable ornamental items affixed thereto, and which display package can be fabricated in any convenient size or shape.

A yet additional object of this invention resides in the provision of a food display device having means therein to which may be secured a number of ornamental items and which is conveniently located beneath a transparent cover and secured within the food package in a novel manner so as to provide a highly effective integral unit. In accordance with this invention, the ornamental decorative display is adapted to be contained within the food package container and is secured therein by means of crimping, gluing or wedging the display card bearing the ornamental decoration thereupon within the package beneath the transparent cover so as to afford the purchaser a view of the food contained within the package together with a view of the ornamental items of decoration provided within the package.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are obtained by this display package, a preferred embodiment of which .has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showing the component parts therein, namely the transparent removable cover, the display card and the container;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled display package taken along the plane of line 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional detailed view of the display package showing the transparent removable cover, the display card and the food product within the display package and the method of securing transparent cover to container;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a display package of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a corner of the display package showing the means of forming the corner and the method of securing the display card and the transparent cover to the display package.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, and with special attention directed to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the drawing, reference numeral generally designates a display package constructed in accordance with concepts of the present invention. The display package 10 comprises a container 12 having peripheral side walls 14 which side walls are contoured to form a peripheral shoulder 16, which shoulder is downwardly spaced from the uppermost edge portion 18 of the side walls 14. The peripheral shoulder 16 extends inwardly in such a manner as to overlie a portion of the interior of the container 12.

A display card, generally designated as 20, which is sized to fit within the peripheral walls 14 of the container 12 and is adapted to overlie and rest upon the peripheral shoulder 16 beneath the uppermost edge 18 is provided, which has affixed thereto a plurality of ornamental non-toxic confectionary figures 22 which figures are removably secured to the display card 20 and may be removed from the display card 20 on the desire of the consumer using the product. The display card 20 is provided with a flat area 24 for art work and instructions or the like at one end thereof while a cutout 26 is formed through the display card 20 through which the food product contained within the package may be seen directly without the necessity of removing the display card from the container 12.

A transparent cover generally designated as 30 is provided having an outwardly extending lower peripheral edge 32, upwardly extending legs 34 and. a domed top portion 36 which top portion is spaced above the lowermost portion of the transparent cover and is located inwardly of the peripheral edge 32.

When in the assembled condition as shown in FIGS. 2 through 5, the lower peripheral portion 32 of the transparent cover is sized to fit within the peripheral side walls 14 of the container 12 and is adapted to lie upon the uppermost edge of the inwardly extending peripheral shoulder 16 overlying the display card 20' which is also sized to fit within the peripheral side walls 14 and to overlie the inwardly extending peripheral shoulder 16. In the assembled condition, the food product 38 is located within the container 12 at a point within the peripheral side walls 14 and below the inwardly extending peripheral shoulder 16. The display card 20 rests upon the inwardly extending peripheral shoulder 16 and once positioned thereupon the food stuff 38 is visible through the opening 26 as may be seen in FIG. 4. On the upper surface of the ornamental display card 20 are the ornaments formed of non-toxic ingredients 22 which are removably secured to the upper surface of the display card 20 by means on non-toxic edible glue, jam, buttercream or the like. Once the display card 24) has been positioned over the inwardly extending peripheral shoulder 16 within the side walls 14 of container 12, the transparent cover 30 is then placed on top of the display card 20 within the peripheral side walls 14 of the food container 12. It

will be noted that in this condition, the inwardly tapering upper portion 34 of the transparent cover is spaced high enough over the display card 20 so as to allow full clearance for the ornamental items 22 which are removably secured to the display card 20.

Once the transparent cover 30 has been placed on top of display card 26 within the peripheral walls 14, the uppermost portion 18 of the peripheral side walls may then be crimped or folded over on top of the outwardly extending peripheral base 32 of the transparent cover so as to seal the display package and prevent the entrance 4 into the display package of air or other contaminating agents.

The crimping of the edge 18 as is best shown in FIG. 3 shows that the upper edge 18, when folded or crimped over will overlie the lowermost edge 32 of transparent cover 30 and will abut the tapering side walls 34 of the domed cover 30 so as to further form an additional seal for the transparent cover over the display cards and the food contained in the package.

It is to be noted that the use of the display card 20 and the transparent domed top 30 is not restricted to containers bearing foldable side walls as illustrated, but is applicable equally to paper cups, and other containers which may, for example, have force-fitted covers which fit into pre-forrned grooves or the like in the side walls therein.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accord ingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

I claim:

1. A display package comprising a container having peripheral side walls, said side walls being contoured to form a peripheral shoulder downwardly spaced from the uppermost portion of said side walls, a transparent cover on said container, said cover including a peripheral flange, a display card disposed within said container, said cover overlying said display card, and means for maintaining said display card and said transparent cover removably secured to said container, said container being provided with food storage means, said transparent cover being adapted to overlie said food storage means, said display card having a cutout therein allowing for the visual observation of food stored beneath said display card and said transparent cover, and non-toxic 3-dimensional dis play ornaments removably secured to said display card.

2. A display package comprising a container having peripheral side walls, said side walls being contoured to form a peripheral shoulder downwardly spaced from the uppermost portion of said side walls, a transparent cover on said container, said cover including a peripheral flange, a display card disposed within said container, said cover overlying said display card, and means for maintaining said display card and said transparent cover rernovably secured to said container, said container being provided with food storage means, said transparent cover being adapted to fit within said container below the upper edge thereof, said display card being disposed between the container bottom and the uppermost edge of said side walls of said container, said display card having a cutout therein, non-toxic 3-dirnensional food ornaments removably secured to said display card, said display card and said transparent cover being removably secured within said container by holding over said side walls of said container.

, References Cited UNITED JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. LOUIS G. MANCENE, Examiner, 

1. A DISPLAY PACKAGE COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING PERIPHERAL SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS BEING CONTOURED TO FROM A PERIPHERAL SHOULDER DOWNWARDLY SPACED FROM THE UPPERMOST PORTION OF SID SIDE WALLS, A TRANSVERSE PARENT COVER ON SAID CONTAINER, SAID CONVEYOR INCLUDING A PERIPHERAL FLANGE, A DISPLAY CARD DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CONTAINER, SAID COVER OVERLYING SAID DISPLAY CARD, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID DISPLAY CARD AND SAID TRANSPARENT COVER REMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID CONTAINER, SAID CONTAINER BEING PROVIDED WITH FOOD STORAGE MEANS, SAID TRANSPARENT COVER REMOVABLY ADAPTED TO OVERLIE SAID FOOD STORAGE MEANS, SAID DISPLAY CARD HAVING A CUTOUT THEREIN ALLOWING FOR THE VISUAL OBSERVATION OF FOOD STORED BENEATH SAID DISPLAY CARD AND SAID TRANSPARENT COVER, AND NON-TOXIC 3-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAY ORNAMENTS REMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID DISPLAY CARD. 